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Hatfield Colliery: Skinner slams Cameron for leaving coalminers to rot

DENNIS SKINNER slammed posh Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday for sitting on his hands while one of Britain’s last coalmines went out of business.

The stalwart socialist MP launched a scathing attack on the Tory after Hatfield’s 420 miners were told it would be closed when they arrived for work on Tuesday.

Riled Mr Cameron, who has already been in hot water for ageist comments, retorted by branding Mr Skinner a “Jurassic Park” MP.

The angry exchange came after ministers, who promised to help the worker-owned pit stay open until at least next summer, pulled the plug on a £20 million loan package on Monday night.

To cheers from the Labour benches, Mr Skinner said: “For a man who seemingly is never away from Europe, why is it that he has never taken the opportunity, when he has been there, to put in a claim for state aid to save British miners’ jobs?

“He is the man who, during the election campaign, masqueraded as the workers’ champion but he has not got the guts to help those miners.

“He took £700 million out of the mineworkers’ pension scheme and he has not given a penny back. No wonder they call him ‘dodgy Dave’.”

Mr Cameron replied: “It is very good to see the Labour party in full voice cheering on Jurassic Park. I would stick to the movie.”

Three hundred of the pit’s miners will be made immediately redundant, while the rest will stay on to close production down over the next nine weeks.

There are now questions about government commitments to help Britain’s last two deep coalmines, Kellingley and Thoresby, remain open until next year.

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